Unified Display For Virtual Resources

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for unifying display of virtual resources are described herein. A virtual session between a client device and a server device may be established. During the virtual session, a user may request, via the client device, to access a uniform resource locator (URL) via a browser associated with the server device. The URL request may be redirected. For example, the client device may receive, from the server device, a request to access the URL via a different browser. The client device may determine another browser with which to access the URL, and the URL may be launched via the other browser. The client device may generate a unified display of the URL launched via the other browser and one or more other URLs.

FIELD

Aspects described herein generally relate to computer networking andvirtual resources. More specifically, aspects described herein relate toaccessing virtual resources from different locations and unifyingdisplay of the virtual resources and/or local resources.

BACKGROUND

Users may access virtual resources by connecting their device to aserver hosting the virtual resources (or otherwise having access to thevirtual resources). For example, web resources (e.g., webpages andwebsites) may be made available to a user via a virtual browser of theserver. The user may access various webpages and/or websites using thevirtual browser. The user may also access local resources from theirdevice or resources from other locations, which may be remote from theuser's device. Content from different locations may be presented on adisplay of the user's display device. However, presentation of contentfrom different locations may inefficiently use a large portion of thedevice's display area, or may be presented on the user's display deviceas separate windows. Moreover, when the user's device disconnects fromthe server, one or more of the resources accessed by the user's devicemay be lost.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of various aspects describedherein. This summary is not an extensive overview, and is not intendedto identify key or critical elements or to delineate the scope of theclaims. The following summary merely presents some concepts in asimplified form as an introductory prelude to the more detaileddescription provided below.

To overcome limitations in the prior art described above, and toovercome other limitations that will be apparent upon reading andunderstanding the present specification, aspects described herein aredirected towards systems, apparatuses, computer-readable media, memory,and methods for unifying display of virtual resources. A method maycomprise launching a virtual session between a client device and aserver device. After launching the virtual session between the clientdevice and the server device, the client device may send, to the serverdevice and via a virtual channel, a request to access a uniform resourcelocator (URL) via a browser associated with the server device. Theclient device may receive, from the server device, a request to accessthe URL via a browser different from the browser associated with theserver device. The client device may determine a second browser withwhich to access the URL. The second browser may be different from thebrowser associated with the server device. The URL may be launched viathe second browser. The client device may receive information forgenerating one or more images corresponding to the URL launched via thesecond browser. Based on the information for generating one or moreimages corresponding to the URL launched via the second browser, theclient device may generate a unified display of the URL launched via thesecond browser and one or more URLs launched via the browser associatedwith the server device.

In some examples, receiving the request to access the URL via thebrowser different from the browser associated with the server device maybe based on a determination that the URL is not permitted to be accessedvia the browser associated with the server device. Additionally oralternatively, the request to access the URL via a browser differentfrom the browser may indicate the URL and a mode of access for the URL.For example, the mode of access for the URL may comprise accessing theURL via a tab of the browser associated with the server device or via awindow of the browser associated with the server device.

In some examples, the client device may send, to the server device, arequest to modify one or more characteristics of a browser window of thebrowser associated with the server device or a browser tab of thebrowser associated with the server device. Based on the request tomodify the one or more characteristics, the client device or serverdevice may cause storage, in a data store associated with the virtualsession, an indication of the modification to one or morecharacteristics of the browser window of the browser associated with theserver device or the browser tab of the browser associated with theserver device.

In some examples, determining the second browser with which to accessthe URL may be based on graphics requirements associated with the URL.The browser associated with the server device may comprise a virtualbrowser executing on the server device. The second browser may comprisea local browser executing on the client device or a secured browserexecuting in a virtual session different from the virtual sessionbetween the client device and the server device.

In some examples, the request to access the URL via the browserassociated with the server device may comprise a request to access theURL via a browser tab of the browser associated with the server device.Generating the unified display may comprise causing display, in thebrowser tab of the browser associated with the server device, of contentassociated with the URL launched via the second browser.

In some examples, the client device may cause storage, in a data storeassociated with the virtual session, an indication of the URL launchedvia the second browser and state information for the URL launched viathe second browser. The state information for the URL may indicate, forexample, one or more of a browser tab or a browser window used todisplay content associated with the URL launched via the second browser.In some examples, the client device may be reconnected to the virtualsession. Based on data from the data store associated with the virtualsession, the URL may be launched via the second browser, and the one ormore URLs may be launched via the browser associated with the serverdevice. Also based on data from the data store associated with thevirtual session, a unified display of the URL launched via the secondbrowser and the one or more URLs launched via the browser associatedwith the server device may be generated.

In some examples, the client device may reconnect to the virtualsession. However, the URL might not be launched via the second browser.For example, based on a determination that graphics capabilities of thesecond browser do not satisfy graphics requirements for the URL, the URLmay be launched via a third browser different from the second browser.The one or more URLs may be launched via the browser associated with theserver device. Also based on data from the data store associated withthe virtual session, a unified display of the URL launched via the thirdbrowser and the one or more URLs launched via the browser associatedwith the server device may be generated.

These and additional aspects will be appreciated with the benefit of thedisclosures discussed in further detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of aspects described herein and theadvantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the followingdescription in consideration of the accompanying drawings, in which likereference numbers indicate like features, and wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative computer system architecture that may beused in accordance with one or more illustrative aspects describedherein.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative remote-access system architecture thatmay be used in accordance with one or more illustrative aspectsdescribed herein.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative virtualized (hypervisor) systemarchitecture that may be used in accordance with one or moreillustrative aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative cloud-based system architecture that maybe used in accordance with one or more illustrative aspects describedherein.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative enterprise mobility management system.

FIG. 6 depicts another illustrative enterprise mobility managementsystem.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example system for unifying display of virtualresources in accordance with one or more illustrative aspects describedherein.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a unified display of virtual resourcesin accordance with one or more illustrative aspects described herein.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example method for unifying display of virtualresources in accordance with one or more illustrative aspects describedherein.

FIG. 10 illustrates another example method for unifying display ofvirtual resources in accordance with one or more illustrative aspectsdescribed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of the various embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings identified above and which form a parthereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodimentsin which aspects described herein may be practiced. It is to beunderstood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural andfunctional modifications may be made without departing from the scopedescribed herein. Various aspects are capable of other embodiments andof being practiced or being carried out in various different ways.

As a general introduction to the subject matter described in more detailbelow, aspects described herein are directed towards methods and systemsfor unifying display of virtual resources. A virtual session between aclient device and a server device may be established. During the virtualsession, a user may request, via the client device, to access a uniformresource locator (URL) via a browser associated with the server device.The URL request may be redirected if, for example, the URL is notpermitted to be launched via the browser associated with the serverdevice. The client device may receive, from the server device, a requestto access the URL via a different browser. The client device maydetermine another browser with which to access the URL, and the URL maybe launched via the other browser. For example, the other browser maycomprise a local browser or a virtual browser different from the browserassociated with the server device. The client device may generate aunified display of the URL launched via the other browser and one ormore other URLs, such as URLs launched via the browser associated withthe server device or launched via other browsers.

It is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used hereinare for the purpose of description and should not be regarded aslimiting. Rather, the phrases and terms used herein are to be giventheir broadest interpretation and meaning. The use of “including” and“comprising” and variations thereof is meant to encompass the itemslisted thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional itemsand equivalents thereof. The use of the terms “mounted,” “connected,”“coupled,” “positioned,” “engaged” and similar terms, is meant toinclude both direct and indirect mounting, connecting, coupling,positioning and engaging.

Computing Architecture

Computer software, hardware, and networks may be utilized in a varietyof different system environments, including standalone, networked,remote-access (also known as remote desktop), virtualized, and/orcloud-based environments, among others. FIG. 1 illustrates one exampleof a system architecture and data processing device that may be used toimplement one or more illustrative aspects described herein in astandalone and/or networked environment. Various network nodes 103, 105,107, and 109 may be interconnected via a wide area network (WAN) 101,such as the Internet. Other networks may also or alternatively be used,including private intranets, corporate networks, local area networks(LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN), wireless networks, personalnetworks (PAN), and the like. Network 101 is for illustration purposesand may be replaced with fewer or additional computer networks. A localarea network 133 may have one or more of any known LAN topology and mayuse one or more of a variety of different protocols, such as Ethernet.Devices 103, 105, 107, and 109 and other devices (not shown) may beconnected to one or more of the networks via twisted pair wires, coaxialcable, fiber optics, radio waves, or other communication media.

The term “network” as used herein and depicted in the drawings refersnot only to systems in which remote storage devices are coupled togethervia one or more communication paths, but also to stand-alone devicesthat may be coupled, from time to time, to such systems that havestorage capability. Consequently, the term “network” includes not only a“physical network” but also a “content network,” which is comprised ofthe data—attributable to a single entity—which resides across allphysical networks.

The components may include data server 103, web server 105, and clientcomputers 107, 109. Data server 103 provides overall access, control andadministration of databases and control software for performing one ormore illustrative aspects describe herein. Data server 103 may beconnected to web server 105 through which users interact with and obtaindata as requested. Alternatively, data server 103 may act as a webserver itself and be directly connected to the Internet. Data server 103may be connected to web server 105 through the local area network 133,the wide area network 101 (e.g., the Internet), via direct or indirectconnection, or via some other network. Users may interact with the dataserver 103 using remote computers 107, 109, e.g., using a web browser toconnect to the data server 103 via one or more externally exposed websites hosted by web server 105. Client computers 107, 109 may be used inconcert with data server 103 to access data stored therein, or may beused for other purposes. For example, from client device 107 a user mayaccess web server 105 using an Internet browser, as is known in the art,or by executing a software application that communicates with web server105 and/or data server 103 over a computer network (such as theInternet).

Servers and applications may be combined on the same physical machines,and retain separate virtual or logical addresses, or may reside onseparate physical machines. FIG. 1 illustrates just one example of anetwork architecture that may be used, and those of skill in the artwill appreciate that the specific network architecture and dataprocessing devices used may vary, and are secondary to the functionalitythat they provide, as further described herein. For example, servicesprovided by web server 105 and data server 103 may be combined on asingle server.

Each component 103, 105, 107, 109 may be any type of known computer,server, or data processing device. Data server 103, e.g., may include aprocessor 111 controlling overall operation of the data server 103. Dataserver 103 may further include random access memory (RAM) 113, read onlymemory (ROM) 115, network interface 117, input/output interfaces 119(e.g., keyboard, mouse, display, printer, etc.), and memory 121.Input/output (I/O) 119 may include a variety of interface units anddrives for reading, writing, displaying, and/or printing data or files.Memory 121 may further store operating system software 123 forcontrolling overall operation of the data processing device 103, controllogic 125 for instructing data server 103 to perform aspects describedherein, and other application software 127 providing secondary, support,and/or other functionality which may or might not be used in conjunctionwith aspects described herein. The control logic 125 may also bereferred to herein as the data server software 125. Functionality of thedata server software 125 may refer to operations or decisions madeautomatically based on rules coded into the control logic 125, mademanually by a user providing input into the system, and/or a combinationof automatic processing based on user input (e.g., queries, dataupdates, etc.).

Memory 121 may also store data used in performance of one or moreaspects described herein, including a first database 129 and a seconddatabase 131. In some embodiments, the first database 129 may includethe second database 131 (e.g., as a separate table, report, etc.). Thatis, the information can be stored in a single database, or separatedinto different logical, virtual, or physical databases, depending onsystem design. Devices 105, 107, and 109 may have similar or differentarchitecture as described with respect to device 103. Those of skill inthe art will appreciate that the functionality of data processing device103 (or device 105, 107, or 109) as described herein may be spreadacross multiple data processing devices, for example, to distributeprocessing load across multiple computers, to segregate transactionsbased on geographic location, user access level, quality of service(QoS), etc.

One or more aspects may be embodied in computer-usable or readable dataand/or computer-executable instructions, such as in one or more programmodules, executed by one or more computers or other devices as describedherein. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks orimplement particular abstract data types when executed by a processor ina computer or other device. The modules may be written in a source codeprogramming language that is subsequently compiled for execution, or maybe written in a scripting language such as (but not limited to)HyperText Markup Language (HTML) or Extensible Markup Language (XML).The computer executable instructions may be stored on a computerreadable medium such as a nonvolatile storage device. Any suitablecomputer readable storage media may be utilized, including hard disks,CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or anycombination thereof. In addition, various transmission (non-storage)media representing data or events as described herein may be transferredbetween a source and a destination in the form of electromagnetic wavestraveling through signal-conducting media such as metal wires, opticalfibers, and/or wireless transmission media (e.g., air and/or space).Various aspects described herein may be embodied as a method, a dataprocessing system, or a computer program product. Therefore, variousfunctionalities may be embodied in whole or in part in software,firmware, and/or hardware or hardware equivalents such as integratedcircuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and the like.Particular data structures may be used to more effectively implement oneor more aspects described herein, and such data structures arecontemplated within the scope of computer executable instructions andcomputer-usable data described herein.

With further reference to FIG. 2, one or more aspects described hereinmay be implemented in a remote-access environment. FIG. 2 depicts anexample system architecture including a computing device 201 in anillustrative computing environment 200 that may be used according to oneor more illustrative aspects described herein. Computing device 201 maybe used as a server 206 a in a single-server or multi-server desktopvirtualization system (e.g., a remote access or cloud system) and can beconfigured to provide virtual machines for client access devices. Thecomputing device 201 may have a processor 203 for controlling overalloperation of the device 201 and its associated components, including RAM205, ROM 207, Input/Output (I/O) module 209, and memory 215.

I/O module 209 may include a mouse, keypad, touch screen, scanner,optical reader, and/or stylus (or other input device(s)) through which auser of computing device 201 may provide input, and may also include oneor more of a speaker for providing audio output and one or more of avideo display device for providing textual, audiovisual, and/orgraphical output. Software may be stored within memory 215 and/or otherstorage to provide instructions to processor 203 for configuringcomputing device 201 into a special purpose computing device in order toperform various functions as described herein. For example, memory 215may store software used by the computing device 201, such as anoperating system 217, application programs 219, and an associateddatabase 221.

Computing device 201 may operate in a networked environment supportingconnections to one or more remote computers, such as terminals 240 (alsoreferred to as client devices). The terminals 240 may be personalcomputers, mobile devices, laptop computers, tablets, or servers thatinclude many or all of the elements described above with respect to thecomputing device 103 or 201. The network connections depicted in FIG. 2include a local area network (LAN) 225 and a wide area network (WAN)229, but may also include other networks. When used in a LAN networkingenvironment, computing device 201 may be connected to the LAN 225through a network interface or adapter 223. When used in a WANnetworking environment, computing device 201 may include a modem orother wide area network interface 227 for establishing communicationsover the WAN 229, such as computer network 230 (e.g., the Internet). Itwill be appreciated that the network connections shown are illustrativeand other means of establishing a communications link between thecomputers may be used. Computing device 201 and/or terminals 240 mayalso be mobile terminals (e.g., mobile phones, smartphones, personaldigital assistants (PDAs), notebooks, etc.) including various othercomponents, such as a battery, speaker, and antennas (not shown).

Aspects described herein may also be operational with numerous othergeneral purpose or special purpose computing system environments orconfigurations. Examples of other computing systems, environments,and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with aspectsdescribed herein include, but are not limited to, personal computers,server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumerelectronics, network personal computers (PCs), minicomputers, mainframecomputers, distributed computing environments that include any of theabove systems or devices, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, one or more client devices 240 may be incommunication with one or more servers 206 a-206 n (generally referredto herein as “server(s) 206”). In one embodiment, the computingenvironment 200 may include a network appliance installed between theserver(s) 206 and client machine(s) 240. The network appliance maymanage client/server connections, and in some cases can load balanceclient connections amongst a plurality of backend servers 206.

The client machine(s) 240 may in some embodiments be referred to as asingle client machine 240 or a single group of client machines 240,while server(s) 206 may be referred to as a single server 206 or asingle group of servers 206. In one embodiment a single client machine240 communicates with more than one server 206, while in anotherembodiment a single server 206 communicates with more than one clientmachine 240. In yet another embodiment, a single client machine 240communicates with a single server 206.

A client machine 240 can, in some embodiments, be referenced by any oneof the following non-exhaustive terms: client machine(s); client(s);client computer(s); client device(s); client computing device(s); localmachine; remote machine; client node(s); endpoint(s); or endpointnode(s). The server 206, in some embodiments, may be referenced by anyone of the following non-exhaustive terms: server(s), local machine;remote machine; server farm(s), or host computing device(s).

In one embodiment, the client machine 240 may be a virtual machine. Thevirtual machine may be any virtual machine, while in some embodimentsthe virtual machine may be any virtual machine managed by a Type 1 orType 2 hypervisor, for example, a hypervisor developed by CitrixSystems, IBM, VMware, or any other hypervisor. In some aspects, thevirtual machine may be managed by a hypervisor, while in other aspectsthe virtual machine may be managed by a hypervisor executing on a server206 or a hypervisor executing on a client 240.

Some embodiments include a client device 240 that displays applicationoutput generated by an application remotely executing on a server 206 orother remotely located machine. In these embodiments, the client device240 may execute a virtual machine receiver program or application todisplay the output in an application window, a browser, or other outputwindow. In one example, the application is a desktop, while in otherexamples the application is an application that generates or presents adesktop. A desktop may include a graphical shell providing a userinterface for an instance of an operating system in which local and/orremote applications can be integrated. Applications, as used herein, areprograms that execute after an instance of an operating system (and,optionally, also the desktop) has been loaded.

The server 206, in some embodiments, uses a remote presentation protocolor other program to send data to a thin-client or remote-displayapplication executing on the client to present display output generatedby an application executing on the server 206. The thin-client orremote-display protocol can be any one of the following non-exhaustivelist of protocols: the Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) protocoldeveloped by Citrix Systems, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; or the RemoteDesktop Protocol (RDP) manufactured by the Microsoft Corporation ofRedmond, Wash.

A remote computing environment may include more than one server 206a-206 n such that the servers 206 a-206 n are logically grouped togetherinto a server farm 206, for example, in a cloud computing environment.The server farm 206 may include servers 206 that are geographicallydispersed while logically grouped together, or servers 206 that arelocated proximate to each other while logically grouped together.Geographically dispersed servers 206 a-206 n within a server farm 206can, in some embodiments, communicate using a WAN (wide), MAN(metropolitan), or LAN (local), where different geographic regions canbe characterized as: different continents; different regions of acontinent; different countries; different states; different cities;different campuses; different rooms; or any combination of the precedinggeographical locations. In some embodiments the server farm 206 may beadministered as a single entity, while in other embodiments the serverfarm 206 can include multiple server farms.

In some embodiments, a server farm may include servers 206 that executea substantially similar type of operating system platform (e.g.,WINDOWS, UNIX, LINUX, iOS, ANDROID, SYMBIAN, etc.) In other embodiments,server farm 206 may include a first group of one or more servers thatexecute a first type of operating system platform, and a second group ofone or more servers that execute a second type of operating systemplatform.

Server 206 may be configured as any type of server, as needed, e.g., afile server, an application server, a web server, a proxy server, anappliance, a network appliance, a gateway, an application gateway, agateway server, a virtualization server, a deployment server, a SecureSockets Layer (SSL) VPN server, a firewall, a web server, an applicationserver or as a master application server, a server executing an activedirectory, or a server executing an application acceleration programthat provides firewall functionality, application functionality, or loadbalancing functionality. Other server types may also be used.

Some embodiments include a first server 206 a that receives requestsfrom a client machine 240, forwards the request to a second server 206 b(not shown), and responds to the request generated by the client machine240 with a response from the second server 206 b (not shown.) Firstserver 206 a may acquire an enumeration of applications available to theclient machine 240 as well as address information associated with anapplication server 206 hosting an application identified within theenumeration of applications. First server 206 a can then present aresponse to the client's request using a web interface, and communicatedirectly with the client 240 to provide the client 240 with access to anidentified application. One or more clients 240 and/or one or moreservers 206 may transmit data over network 230, e.g., network 101.

FIG. 3 shows a high-level architecture of an illustrative desktopvirtualization system. As shown, the desktop virtualization system maybe single-server or multi-server system, or cloud system, including atleast one virtualization server 301 configured to provide virtualdesktops and/or virtual applications to one or more client accessdevices 240. As used herein, a desktop refers to a graphical environmentor space in which one or more applications may be hosted and/orexecuted. A desktop may include a graphical shell providing a userinterface for an instance of an operating system in which local and/orremote applications can be integrated. Applications may include programsthat execute after an instance of an operating system (and, optionally,also the desktop) has been loaded. Each instance of the operating systemmay be physical (e.g., one operating system per device) or virtual(e.g., many instances of an OS running on a single device). Eachapplication may be executed on a local device, or executed on a remotelylocated device (e.g., remoted).

A computer device 301 may be configured as a virtualization server in avirtualization environment, for example, a single-server, multi-server,or cloud computing environment. Virtualization server 301 illustrated inFIG. 3 can be deployed as and/or implemented by one or more embodimentsof the server 206 illustrated in FIG. 2 or by other known computingdevices. Included in virtualization server 301 is a hardware layer thatcan include one or more physical disks 304, one or more physical devices306, one or more physical processors 308, and one or more physicalmemories 316. In some embodiments, firmware 312 can be stored within amemory element in the physical memory 316 and can be executed by one ormore of the physical processors 308. Virtualization server 301 mayfurther include an operating system 314 that may be stored in a memoryelement in the physical memory 316 and executed by one or more of thephysical processors 308. Still further, a hypervisor 302 may be storedin a memory element in the physical memory 316 and can be executed byone or more of the physical processors 308.

Executing on one or more of the physical processors 308 may be one ormore virtual machines 332A-C (generally 332). Each virtual machine 332may have a virtual disk 326A-C and a virtual processor 328A-C. In someembodiments, a first virtual machine 332A may execute, using a virtualprocessor 328A, a control program 320 that includes a tools stack 324.Control program 320 may be referred to as a control virtual machine,Dom0, Domain 0, or other virtual machine used for system administrationand/or control. In some embodiments, one or more virtual machines 332B-Ccan execute, using a virtual processor 328B-C, a guest operating system330A-B.

Virtualization server 301 may include a hardware layer 310 with one ormore pieces of hardware that communicate with the virtualization server301. In some embodiments, the hardware layer 310 can include one or morephysical disks 304, one or more physical devices 306, one or morephysical processors 308, and one or more physical memory 316. Physicalcomponents 304, 306, 308, and 316 may include, for example, any of thecomponents described above. Physical devices 306 may include, forexample, a network interface card, a video card, a keyboard, a mouse, aninput device, a monitor, a display device, speakers, an optical drive, astorage device, a universal serial bus connection, a printer, a scanner,a network element (e.g., router, firewall, network address translator,load balancer, virtual private network (VPN) gateway, Dynamic HostConfiguration Protocol (DHCP) router, etc.), or any device connected toor communicating with virtualization server 301. Physical memory 316 inthe hardware layer 310 may include any type of memory. Physical memory316 may store data, and in some embodiments may store one or moreprograms, or set of executable instructions. FIG. 3 illustrates anembodiment where firmware 312 is stored within the physical memory 316of virtualization server 301. Programs or executable instructions storedin the physical memory 316 can be executed by the one or more processors308 of virtualization server 301.

Virtualization server 301 may also include a hypervisor 302. In someembodiments, hypervisor 302 may be a program executed by processors 308on virtualization server 301 to create and manage any number of virtualmachines 332. Hypervisor 302 may be referred to as a virtual machinemonitor, or platform virtualization software. In some embodiments,hypervisor 302 can be any combination of executable instructions andhardware that monitors virtual machines executing on a computingmachine. Hypervisor 302 may be Type 2 hypervisor, where the hypervisorexecutes within an operating system 314 executing on the virtualizationserver 301. Virtual machines may then execute at a level above thehypervisor 302. In some embodiments, the Type 2 hypervisor may executewithin the context of a user's operating system such that the Type 2hypervisor interacts with the user's operating system. In otherembodiments, one or more virtualization servers 301 in a virtualizationenvironment may instead include a Type 1 hypervisor (not shown). A Type1 hypervisor may execute on the virtualization server 301 by directlyaccessing the hardware and resources within the hardware layer 310. Thatis, while a Type 2 hypervisor 302 accesses system resources through ahost operating system 314, as shown, a Type 1 hypervisor may directlyaccess all system resources without the host operating system 314. AType 1 hypervisor may execute directly on one or more physicalprocessors 308 of virtualization server 301, and may include programdata stored in the physical memory 316.

Hypervisor 302, in some embodiments, can provide virtual resources tooperating systems 330 or control programs 320 executing on virtualmachines 332 in any manner that simulates the operating systems 330 orcontrol programs 320 having direct access to system resources. Systemresources can include, but are not limited to, physical devices 306,physical disks 304, physical processors 308, physical memory 316, andany other component included in hardware layer 310 of the virtualizationserver 301. Hypervisor 302 may be used to emulate virtual hardware,partition physical hardware, virtualize physical hardware, and/orexecute virtual machines that provide access to computing environments.In still other embodiments, hypervisor 302 may control processorscheduling and memory partitioning for a virtual machine 332 executingon virtualization server 301. Hypervisor 302 may include thosemanufactured by VMWare, Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif.; the XENPROJECThypervisor, an open source product whose development is overseen by theopen source XenProject.org community; HyperV, VirtualServer or virtualPC hypervisors provided by Microsoft, or others. In some embodiments,virtualization server 301 may execute a hypervisor 302 that creates avirtual machine platform on which guest operating systems may execute.In these embodiments, the virtualization server 301 may be referred toas a host server. An example of such a virtualization server is theXENSERVER provided by Citrix Systems, Inc., of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Hypervisor 302 may create one or more virtual machines 332B-C (generally332) in which guest operating systems 330 execute. In some embodiments,hypervisor 302 may load a virtual machine image to create a virtualmachine 332. In other embodiments, the hypervisor 302 may execute aguest operating system 330 within virtual machine 332. In still otherembodiments, virtual machine 332 may execute guest operating system 330.

In addition to creating virtual machines 332, hypervisor 302 may controlthe execution of at least one virtual machine 332. In other embodiments,hypervisor 302 may present at least one virtual machine 332 with anabstraction of at least one hardware resource provided by thevirtualization server 301 (e.g., any hardware resource available withinthe hardware layer 310). In other embodiments, hypervisor 302 maycontrol the manner in which virtual machines 332 access physicalprocessors 308 available in virtualization server 301. Controllingaccess to physical processors 308 may include determining whether avirtual machine 332 should have access to a processor 308, and howphysical processor capabilities are presented to the virtual machine332.

As shown in FIG. 3, virtualization server 301 may host or execute one ormore virtual machines 332. A virtual machine 332 is a set of executableinstructions that, when executed by a processor 308, may imitate theoperation of a physical computer such that the virtual machine 332 canexecute programs and processes much like a physical computing device.While FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment where a virtualization server 301hosts three virtual machines 332, in other embodiments virtualizationserver 301 can host any number of virtual machines 332. Hypervisor 302,in some embodiments, may provide each virtual machine 332 with a uniquevirtual view of the physical hardware, memory, processor, and othersystem resources available to that virtual machine 332. In someembodiments, the unique virtual view can be based on one or more ofvirtual machine permissions, application of a policy engine to one ormore virtual machine identifiers, a user accessing a virtual machine,the applications executing on a virtual machine, networks accessed by avirtual machine, or any other desired criteria. For instance, hypervisor302 may create one or more unsecure virtual machines 332 and one or moresecure virtual machines 332. Unsecure virtual machines 332 may beprevented from accessing resources, hardware, memory locations, andprograms that secure virtual machines 332 may be permitted to access. Inother embodiments, hypervisor 302 may provide each virtual machine 332with a substantially similar virtual view of the physical hardware,memory, processor, and other system resources available to the virtualmachines 332.

Each virtual machine 332 may include a virtual disk 326A-C (generally326) and a virtual processor 328A-C (generally 328.) The virtual disk326, in some embodiments, is a virtualized view of one or more physicaldisks 304 of the virtualization server 301, or a portion of one or morephysical disks 304 of the virtualization server 301. The virtualizedview of the physical disks 304 can be generated, provided, and managedby the hypervisor 302. In some embodiments, hypervisor 302 provides eachvirtual machine 332 with a unique view of the physical disks 304. Thus,in these embodiments, the particular virtual disk 326 included in eachvirtual machine 332 can be unique when compared with the other virtualdisks 326.

A virtual processor 328 can be a virtualized view of one or morephysical processors 308 of the virtualization server 301. In someembodiments, the virtualized view of the physical processors 308 can begenerated, provided, and managed by hypervisor 302. In some embodiments,virtual processor 328 has substantially all of the same characteristicsof at least one physical processor 308. In other embodiments, virtualprocessor 308 provides a modified view of physical processors 308 suchthat at least some of the characteristics of the virtual processor 328are different than the characteristics of the corresponding physicalprocessor 308.

With further reference to FIG. 4, some aspects described herein may beimplemented in a cloud-based environment. FIG. 4 illustrates an exampleof a cloud computing environment (or cloud system) 400. As seen in FIG.4, client computers 411-414 may communicate with a cloud managementserver 410 to access the computing resources (e.g., host servers 403a-403 b (generally referred herein as “host servers 403”), storageresources 404 a-404 b (generally referred herein as “storage resources404”), and network elements 405 a-405 b (generally referred herein as“network resources 405”)) of the cloud system.

Management server 410 may be implemented on one or more physicalservers. The management server 410 may run, for example, CLOUDPLATFORMby Citrix Systems, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., or OPENSTACK, amongothers. Management server 410 may manage various computing resources,including cloud hardware and software resources, for example, hostcomputers 403, data storage devices 404, and networking devices 405. Thecloud hardware and software resources may include private and/or publiccomponents. For example, a cloud may be configured as a private cloud tobe used by one or more particular customers or client computers 411-414and/or over a private network. In other embodiments, public clouds orhybrid public-private clouds may be used by other customers over an openor hybrid networks.

Management server 410 may be configured to provide user interfacesthrough which cloud operators and cloud customers may interact with thecloud system 400. For example, the management server 410 may provide aset of application programming interfaces (APIs) and/or one or morecloud operator console applications (e.g., web-based or standaloneapplications) with user interfaces to allow cloud operators to managethe cloud resources, configure the virtualization layer, manage customeraccounts, and perform other cloud administration tasks. The managementserver 410 also may include a set of APIs and/or one or more customerconsole applications with user interfaces configured to receive cloudcomputing requests from end users via client computers 411-414, forexample, requests to create, modify, or destroy virtual machines withinthe cloud. Client computers 411-414 may connect to management server 410via the Internet or some other communication network, and may requestaccess to one or more of the computing resources managed by managementserver 410. In response to client requests, the management server 410may include a resource manager configured to select and provisionphysical resources in the hardware layer of the cloud system based onthe client requests. For example, the management server 410 andadditional components of the cloud system may be configured toprovision, create, and manage virtual machines and their operatingenvironments (e.g., hypervisors, storage resources, services offered bythe network elements, etc.) for customers at client computers 411-414,over a network (e.g., the Internet), providing customers withcomputational resources, data storage services, networking capabilities,and computer platform and application support. Cloud systems also may beconfigured to provide various specific services, including securitysystems, development environments, user interfaces, and the like.

Certain clients 411-414 may be related, for example, to different clientcomputers creating virtual machines on behalf of the same end user, ordifferent users affiliated with the same company or organization. Inother examples, certain clients 411-414 may be unrelated, such as usersaffiliated with different companies or organizations. For unrelatedclients, information on the virtual machines or storage of any one usermay be hidden from other users.

Referring now to the physical hardware layer of a cloud computingenvironment, availability zones 401-402 (or zones) may refer to acollocated set of physical computing resources. Zones may begeographically separated from other zones in the overall cloud ofcomputing resources. For example, zone 401 may be a first clouddatacenter located in California, and zone 402 may be a second clouddatacenter located in Florida. Management server 410 may be located atone of the availability zones, or at a separate location. Each zone mayinclude an internal network that interfaces with devices that areoutside of the zone, such as the management server 410, through agateway. End users of the cloud (e.g., clients 411-414) might or mightnot be aware of the distinctions between zones. For example, an end usermay request the creation of a virtual machine having a specified amountof memory, processing power, and network capabilities. The managementserver 410 may respond to the user's request and may allocate theresources to create the virtual machine without the user knowing whetherthe virtual machine was created using resources from zone 401 or zone402. In other examples, the cloud system may allow end users to requestthat virtual machines (or other cloud resources) are allocated in aspecific zone or on specific resources 403-405 within a zone.

In this example, each zone 401-402 may include an arrangement of variousphysical hardware components (or computing resources) 403-405, forexample, physical hosting resources (or processing resources), physicalnetwork resources, physical storage resources, switches, and additionalhardware resources that may be used to provide cloud computing servicesto customers. The physical hosting resources in a cloud zone 401-402 mayinclude one or more computer servers 403, such as the virtualizationservers 301 described above, which may be configured to create and hostvirtual machine instances. The physical network resources in a cloudzone 401 or 402 may include one or more network elements 405 (e.g.,network service providers) comprising hardware and/or softwareconfigured to provide a network service to cloud customers, such asfirewalls, network address translators, load balancers, virtual privatenetwork (VPN) gateways, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)routers, and the like. The storage resources in the cloud zone 401-402may include storage disks (e.g., solid state drives (SSDs), magnetichard disks, etc.) and other storage devices.

The example cloud computing environment shown in FIG. 4 also may includea virtualization layer (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 1-3) with additionalhardware and/or software resources configured to create and managevirtual machines and provide other services to customers using thephysical resources in the cloud. The virtualization layer may includehypervisors, as described above in FIG. 3, along with other componentsto provide network virtualizations, storage virtualizations, etc. Thevirtualization layer may be as a separate layer from the physicalresource layer, or may share some or all of the same hardware and/orsoftware resources with the physical resource layer. For example, thevirtualization layer may include a hypervisor installed in each of thevirtualization servers 403 with the physical computing resources. Knowncloud systems may alternatively be used, e.g., WINDOWS AZURE (MicrosoftCorporation of Redmond Wash.), AMAZON EC2 (Amazon.com Inc. of Seattle,Wash.), IBM BLUE CLOUD (IBM Corporation of Armonk, N.Y.), or others.

Enterprise Mobility Management Architecture

FIG. 5 represents an enterprise mobility technical architecture 500 foruse in a “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) environment. The architectureenables a user of a mobile device 502 to both access enterprise orpersonal resources from a mobile device 502 and use the mobile device502 for personal use. The user may access such enterprise resources 504or enterprise services 508 using a mobile device 502 that is purchasedby the user or a mobile device 502 that is provided by the enterprise tothe user. The user may utilize the mobile device 502 for business useonly or for business and personal use. The mobile device 502 may run aniOS operating system, an Android operating system, or the like. Theenterprise may choose to implement policies to manage the mobile device502. The policies may be implemented through a firewall or gateway insuch a way that the mobile device 502 may be identified, secured orsecurity verified, and provided selective or full access to theenterprise resources (e.g., 504 and 508.) The policies may be mobiledevice management policies, mobile application management policies,mobile data management policies, or some combination of mobile device,application, and data management policies. A mobile device 502 that ismanaged through the application of mobile device management policies maybe referred to as an enrolled device.

In some embodiments, the operating system of the mobile device 502 maybe separated into a managed partition 510 and an unmanaged partition512. The managed partition 510 may have policies applied to it to securethe applications running on and data stored in the managed partition510. The applications running on the managed partition 510 may be secureapplications. In other embodiments, all applications may execute inaccordance with a set of one or more policy files received separate fromthe application, and which define one or more security parameters,features, resource restrictions, and/or other access controls that areenforced by the mobile device management system when that application isexecuting on the mobile device 502. By operating in accordance withtheir respective policy file(s), each application may be allowed orrestricted from communications with one or more other applicationsand/or resources, thereby creating a virtual partition. Thus, as usedherein, a partition may refer to a physically partitioned portion ofmemory (physical partition), a logically partitioned portion of memory(logical partition), and/or a virtual partition created as a result ofenforcement of one or more policies and/or policy files across multipleapplications as described herein (virtual partition). Stateddifferently, by enforcing policies on managed applications, thoseapplications may be restricted to only be able to communicate with othermanaged applications and trusted enterprise resources, thereby creatinga virtual partition that is not accessible by unmanaged applications anddevices.

The secure applications may be email applications, web browsingapplications, software-as-a-service (SaaS) access applications, WindowsApplication access applications, and the like. The secure applicationsmay be secure native applications 514, secure remote applications 522executed by a secure application launcher 518, virtualizationapplications 526 executed by a secure application launcher 518, and thelike. The secure native applications 514 may be wrapped by a secureapplication wrapper 520. The secure application wrapper 520 may includeintegrated policies that are executed on the mobile device 502 when thesecure native application 514 is executed on the mobile device 502. Thesecure application wrapper 520 may include meta-data that points thesecure native application 514 running on the mobile device 502 to theresources hosted at the enterprise (e.g., 504 and 508) that the securenative application 514 may require to complete the task requested uponexecution of the secure native application 514. The secure remoteapplications 522 executed by a secure application launcher 518 may beexecuted within the secure application launcher 518. The virtualizationapplications 526 executed by a secure application launcher 518 mayutilize resources on the mobile device 502, at the enterprise resources504, and the like. The resources used on the mobile device 502 by thevirtualization applications 526 executed by a secure applicationlauncher 518 may include user interaction resources, processingresources, and the like. The user interaction resources may be used tocollect and transmit keyboard input, mouse input, camera input, tactileinput, audio input, visual input, gesture input, and the like. Theprocessing resources may be used to present a user interface, processdata received from the enterprise resources 504, and the like. Theresources used at the enterprise resources 504 by the virtualizationapplications 526 executed by a secure application launcher 518 mayinclude user interface generation resources, processing resources, andthe like. The user interface generation resources may be used toassemble a user interface, modify a user interface, refresh a userinterface, and the like. The processing resources may be used to createinformation, read information, update information, delete information,and the like. For example, the virtualization application 526 may recorduser interactions associated with a graphical user interface (GUI) andcommunicate them to a server application where the server applicationwill use the user interaction data as an input to the applicationoperating on the server. In such an arrangement, an enterprise may electto maintain the application on the server side as well as data, files,etc. associated with the application. While an enterprise may elect to“mobilize” some applications in accordance with the principles herein bysecuring them for deployment on the mobile device 502, this arrangementmay also be elected for certain applications. For example, while someapplications may be secured for use on the mobile device 502, othersmight not be prepared or appropriate for deployment on the mobile device502 so the enterprise may elect to provide the mobile user access to theunprepared applications through virtualization techniques. As anotherexample, the enterprise may have large complex applications with largeand complex data sets (e.g., material resource planning applications)where it would be very difficult, or otherwise undesirable, to customizethe application for the mobile device 502 so the enterprise may elect toprovide access to the application through virtualization techniques. Asyet another example, the enterprise may have an application thatmaintains highly secured data (e.g., human resources data, customerdata, engineering data) that may be deemed by the enterprise as toosensitive for even the secured mobile environment so the enterprise mayelect to use virtualization techniques to permit mobile access to suchapplications and data. An enterprise may elect to provide both fullysecured and fully functional applications on the mobile device 502 aswell as a virtualization application 526 to allow access to applicationsthat are deemed more properly operated on the server side. In anembodiment, the virtualization application 526 may store some data,files, etc. on the mobile device 502 in one of the secure storagelocations. An enterprise, for example, may elect to allow certaininformation to be stored on the mobile device 502 while not permittingother information.

In connection with the virtualization application 526, as describedherein, the mobile device 502 may have a virtualization application 526that is designed to present GUIs and then record user interactions withthe GUI. The virtualization application 526 may communicate the userinteractions to the server side to be used by the server sideapplication as user interactions with the application. In response, theapplication on the server side may transmit back to the mobile device502 a new GUI. For example, the new GUI may be a static page, a dynamicpage, an animation, or the like, thereby providing access to remotelylocated resources.

The secure applications 514 may access data stored in a secure datacontainer 528 in the managed partition 510 of the mobile device 502. Thedata secured in the secure data container may be accessed by the securenative applications 514, secure remote applications 522 executed by asecure application launcher 518, virtualization applications 526executed by a secure application launcher 518, and the like. The datastored in the secure data container 528 may include files, databases,and the like. The data stored in the secure data container 528 mayinclude data restricted to a specific secure application 530, sharedamong secure applications 532, and the like. Data restricted to a secureapplication may include secure general data 534 and highly secure data538. Secure general data may use a strong form of encryption such asAdvanced Encryption Standard (AES) 128-bit encryption or the like, whilehighly secure data 538 may use a very strong form of encryption such asAES 256-bit encryption. Data stored in the secure data container 528 maybe deleted from the mobile device 502 upon receipt of a command from thedevice manager 524. The secure applications (e.g., 514, 522, and 526)may have a dual-mode option 540. The dual mode option 540 may presentthe user with an option to operate the secured application in anunsecured or unmanaged mode. In an unsecured or unmanaged mode, thesecure applications may access data stored in an unsecured datacontainer 542 on the unmanaged partition 512 of the mobile device 502.The data stored in an unsecured data container may be personal data 544.The data stored in an unsecured data container 542 may also be accessedby unsecured applications 546 that are running on the unmanagedpartition 512 of the mobile device 502. The data stored in an unsecureddata container 542 may remain on the mobile device 502 when the datastored in the secure data container 528 is deleted from the mobiledevice 502. An enterprise may want to delete from the mobile device 502selected or all data, files, and/or applications owned, licensed orcontrolled by the enterprise (enterprise data) while leaving orotherwise preserving personal data, files, and/or applications owned,licensed or controlled by the user (personal data). This operation maybe referred to as a selective wipe. With the enterprise and personaldata arranged in accordance to the aspects described herein, anenterprise may perform a selective wipe.

The mobile device 502 may connect to enterprise resources 504 andenterprise services 508 at an enterprise, to the public Internet 548,and the like. The mobile device 502 may connect to enterprise resources504 and enterprise services 508 through virtual private networkconnections. The virtual private network connections, also referred toas microVPN or application-specific VPN, may be specific to particularapplications (as illustrated by microVPNs 550, particular devices,particular secured areas on the mobile device (as illustrated by O/S VPN552), and the like. For example, each of the wrapped applications in thesecured area of the mobile device 502 may access enterprise resourcesthrough an application specific VPN such that access to the VPN would begranted based on attributes associated with the application, possibly inconjunction with user or device attribute information. The virtualprivate network connections may carry Microsoft Exchange traffic,Microsoft Active Directory traffic, HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)traffic, HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) traffic, applicationmanagement traffic, and the like. The virtual private networkconnections may support and enable single-sign-on authenticationprocesses 554. The single-sign-on processes may allow a user to providea single set of authentication credentials, which are then verified byan authentication service 558. The authentication service 558 may thengrant to the user access to multiple enterprise resources 504, withoutrequiring the user to provide authentication credentials to eachindividual enterprise resource 504.

The virtual private network connections may be established and managedby an access gateway 560. The access gateway 560 may include performanceenhancement features that manage, accelerate, and improve the deliveryof enterprise resources 504 to the mobile device 502. The access gateway560 may also re-route traffic from the mobile device 502 to the publicInternet 548, enabling the mobile device 502 to access publiclyavailable and unsecured applications that run on the public Internet548. The mobile device 502 may connect to the access gateway via atransport network 562. The transport network 562 may use one or moretransport protocols and may be a wired network, wireless network, cloudnetwork, local area network, metropolitan area network, wide areanetwork, public network, private network, and the like.

The enterprise resources 504 may include email servers, file sharingservers, SaaS applications, Web application servers, Windows applicationservers, and the like. Email servers may include Exchange servers, LotusNotes servers, and the like. File sharing servers may include ShareFileservers, and the like. SaaS applications may include Salesforce, and thelike. Windows application servers may include any application serverthat is built to provide applications that are intended to run on alocal Windows operating system, and the like. The enterprise resources504 may be premise-based resources, cloud-based resources, and the like.The enterprise resources 504 may be accessed by the mobile device 502directly or through the access gateway 560. The enterprise resources 504may be accessed by the mobile device 502 via the transport network 562.

The enterprise services 508 may include authentication services 558,threat detection services 564, device manager services 524, file sharingservices 568, policy manager services 570, social integration services572, application controller services 574, and the like. Authenticationservices 558 may include user authentication services, deviceauthentication services, application authentication services, dataauthentication services, and the like. Authentication services 558 mayuse certificates. The certificates may be stored on the mobile device502, by the enterprise resources 504, and the like. The certificatesstored on the mobile device 502 may be stored in an encrypted locationon the mobile device 502, the certificate may be temporarily stored onthe mobile device 502 for use at the time of authentication, and thelike. Threat detection services 564 may include intrusion detectionservices, unauthorized access attempt detection services, and the like.Unauthorized access attempt detection services may include unauthorizedattempts to access devices, applications, data, and the like. Devicemanagement services 524 may include configuration, provisioning,security, support, monitoring, reporting, and decommissioning services.File sharing services 568 may include file management services, filestorage services, file collaboration services, and the like. Policymanager services 570 may include device policy manager services,application policy manager services, data policy manager services, andthe like. Social integration services 572 may include contactintegration services, collaboration services, integration with socialnetworks such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and the like.Application controller services 574 may include management services,provisioning services, deployment services, assignment services,revocation services, wrapping services, and the like.

The enterprise mobility technical architecture 500 may include anapplication store 578. The application store 578 may include unwrappedapplications 580, pre-wrapped applications 582, and the like.Applications may be populated in the application store 578 from theapplication controller 574. The application store 578 may be accessed bythe mobile device 502 through the access gateway 560, through the publicInternet 548, or the like. The application store 578 may be providedwith an intuitive and easy to use user interface.

A software development kit 584 may provide a user the capability tosecure applications selected by the user by wrapping the application asdescribed previously in this description. An application that has beenwrapped using the software development kit 584 may then be madeavailable to the mobile device 502 by populating it in the applicationstore 578 using the application controller 574.

The enterprise mobility technical architecture 500 may include amanagement and analytics capability 588. The management and analyticscapability 588 may provide information related to how resources areused, how often resources are used, and the like. Resources may includedevices, applications, data, and the like. How resources are used mayinclude which devices download which applications, which applicationsaccess which data, and the like. How often resources are used mayinclude how often an application has been downloaded, how many times aspecific set of data has been accessed by an application, and the like.

FIG. 6 is another illustrative enterprise mobility management system600. Some of the components of the mobility management system 500described above with reference to FIG. 5 have been omitted for the sakeof simplicity. The architecture of the system 600 depicted in FIG. 6 issimilar in many respects to the architecture of the system 500 describedabove with reference to FIG. 5 and may include additional features notmentioned above.

In this case, the left hand side represents an enrolled mobile device602 with a client agent 604, which interacts with gateway server 606(which includes Access Gateway and application controller functionality)to access various enterprise resources 608 and services 609 such asExchange, Sharepoint, public-key infrastructure (PKI) Resources,Kerberos Resources, Certificate Issuance service, as shown on the righthand side above. Although not specifically shown, the mobile device 602may also interact with an enterprise application store (StoreFront) forthe selection and downloading of applications.

The client agent 604 acts as the UI (user interface) intermediary forWindows apps/desktops hosted in an Enterprise data center, which areaccessed using the High-Definition User Experience (HDX)/ICA displayremoting protocol. The client agent 604 also supports the installationand management of native applications on the mobile device 602, such asnative iOS or Android applications. For example, the managedapplications 610 (mail, browser, wrapped application) shown in thefigure above are all native applications that execute locally on themobile device 602. Client agent 604 and application management frameworkof this architecture act to provide policy driven managementcapabilities and features such as connectivity and SSO (single sign on)to enterprise resources/services 608. The client agent 604 handlesprimary user authentication to the enterprise, normally to AccessGateway (AG) 606 with SSO to other gateway server components. The clientagent 604 obtains policies from gateway server 606 to control thebehavior of the managed applications 610 on the mobile device 602.

The Secure InterProcess Communication (IPC) links 612 between the nativeapplications 610 and client agent 604 represent a management channel,which may allow a client agent to supply policies to be enforced by theapplication management framework 614 “wrapping” each application. TheIPC channel 612 may also allow client agent 604 to supply credential andauthentication information that enables connectivity and SSO toenterprise resources 608. Finally, the IPC channel 612 may allow theapplication management framework 614 to invoke user interface functionsimplemented by client agent 604, such as online and offlineauthentication.

Communications between the client agent 604 and gateway server 606 areessentially an extension of the management channel from the applicationmanagement framework 614 wrapping each native managed application 610.The application management framework 614 may request policy informationfrom client agent 604, which in turn may request it from gateway server606. The application management framework 614 may requestauthentication, and client agent 604 may log into the gateway servicespart of gateway server 606 (also known as NETSCALER ACCESS GATEWAY).Client agent 604 may also call supporting services on gateway server606, which may produce input material to derive encryption keys for thelocal data vaults 616, or may provide client certificates which mayenable direct authentication to PKI protected resources, as more fullyexplained below.

In more detail, the application management framework 614 “wraps” eachmanaged application 610. This may be incorporated via an explicit buildstep, or via a post-build processing step. The application managementframework 614 may “pair” with client agent 604 on first launch of anapplication 610 to initialize the Secure IPC channel 612 and obtain thepolicy for that application. The application management framework 614may enforce relevant portions of the policy that apply locally, such asthe client agent login dependencies and some of the containment policiesthat restrict how local OS services may be used, or how they mayinteract with the managed application 610.

The application management framework 614 may use services provided byclient agent 604 over the Secure IPC channel 612 to facilitateauthentication and internal network access. Key management for theprivate and shared data vaults 616 (containers) may be also managed byappropriate interactions between the managed applications 610 and clientagent 604. Vaults 616 may be available only after online authentication,or may be made available after offline authentication if allowed bypolicy. First use of vaults 616 may require online authentication, andoffline access may be limited to at most the policy refresh periodbefore online authentication is again required.

Network access to internal resources may occur directly from individualmanaged applications 610 through Access Gateway 606. The applicationmanagement framework 614 may be responsible for orchestrating thenetwork access on behalf of each managed application 610. Client agent604 may facilitate these network connections by providing suitable timelimited secondary credentials obtained following online authentication.Multiple modes of network connection may be used, such as reverse webproxy connections and end-to-end VPN-style tunnels 618.

The Mail and Browser managed applications 610 have special status andmay make use of facilities that might not be generally available toarbitrary wrapped applications. For example, the Mail application 610may use a special background network access mechanism that allows it toaccess an Exchange server 608 over an extended period of time withoutrequiring a full AG logon. The Browser application 610 may use multipleprivate data vaults 616 to segregate different kinds of data.

This architecture may support the incorporation of various othersecurity features. For example, gateway server 606 (including itsgateway services) in some cases may not need to validate activedirectory (AD) passwords. It can be left to the discretion of anenterprise whether an AD password may be used as an authenticationfactor for some users in some situations. Different authenticationmethods may be used if a user is online or offline (i.e., connected ornot connected to a network).

Step up authentication is a feature wherein gateway server 606 mayidentify managed native applications 610 that are allowed to have accessto highly classified data requiring strong authentication, and ensurethat access to these applications is only permitted after performingappropriate authentication, even if this means a re-authentication isrequired by the user after a prior weaker level of login.

Another security feature of this solution is the encryption of the datavaults 616 (containers) on the mobile device 602. The vaults 616 may beencrypted so that all on-device data including files, databases, andconfigurations are protected. For on-line vaults, the keys may be storedon the server (gateway server 606), and for off-line vaults, a localcopy of the keys may be protected by a user password or biometricvalidation. If or when data is stored locally on the mobile device 602in the secure container 616, it may be preferred that a minimum of AES256 encryption algorithm be utilized.

Other secure container features may also be implemented. For example, alogging feature may be included, wherein security events happeninginside a managed application 610 may be logged and reported to thebackend. Data wiping may be supported, such as if or when the managedapplication 610 detects tampering, associated encryption keys may bewritten over with random data, leaving no hint on the file system thatuser data was destroyed. Screenshot protection may be another feature,where an application may prevent any data from being stored inscreenshots. For example, the key window's hidden property may be set toYES. This may cause whatever content is currently displayed on thescreen to be hidden, resulting in a blank screenshot where any contentwould normally reside.

Local data transfer may be prevented, such as by preventing any datafrom being locally transferred outside the application container, e.g.,by copying it or sending it to an external application. A keyboard cachefeature may operate to disable the autocorrect functionality forsensitive text fields. SSL certificate validation may be operable so theapplication specifically validates the server SSL certificate instead ofit being stored in the keychain. An encryption key generation featuremay be used such that the key used to encrypt data on the mobile device602 is generated using a passphrase or biometric data supplied by theuser (if offline access is required). It may be XORed with another keyrandomly generated and stored on the server side if offline access isnot required. Key Derivation functions may operate such that keysgenerated from the user password use KDFs (key derivation functions,notably Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2 (PBKDF2)) rather thancreating a cryptographic hash of it. The latter makes a key susceptibleto brute force or dictionary attacks.

Further, one or more initialization vectors may be used in encryptionmethods. An initialization vector will cause multiple copies of the sameencrypted data to yield different cipher text output, preventing bothreplay and cryptanalytic attacks. This will also prevent an attackerfrom decrypting any data even with a stolen encryption key. Further,authentication then decryption may be used, wherein application data isdecrypted only after the user has authenticated within the application.Another feature may relate to sensitive data in memory, which may bekept in memory (and not in disk) only when it's needed. For example,login credentials may be wiped from memory after login, and encryptionkeys and other data inside objective-C instance variables are notstored, as they may be easily referenced. Instead, memory may bemanually allocated for these.

An inactivity timeout may be implemented, wherein after a policy-definedperiod of inactivity, a user session is terminated.

Data leakage from the application management framework 614 may beprevented in other ways. For example, if or when a managed application610 is put in the background, the memory may be cleared after apredetermined (configurable) time period. When backgrounded, a snapshotmay be taken of the last displayed screen of the application to fastenthe foregrounding process. The screenshot may contain confidential dataand hence should be cleared.

Another security feature may relate to the use of an OTP (one timepassword) 620 without the use of an AD (active directory) 622 passwordfor access to one or more applications. In some cases, some users do notknow (or are not permitted to know) their AD password, so these usersmay authenticate using an OTP 620 such as by using a hardware OTP systemlike SecurID (OTPs may be provided by different vendors also, such asEntrust or Gemalto). In some cases, after a user authenticates with auser ID, a text may be sent to the user with an OTP 620. In some cases,this may be implemented only for online use, with a prompt being asingle field.

An offline password may be implemented for offline authentication forthose managed applications 610 for which offline use is permitted viaenterprise policy. For example, an enterprise may want StoreFront to beaccessed in this manner. In this case, the client agent 604 may requirethe user to set a custom offline password and the AD password is notused. Gateway server 606 may provide policies to control and enforcepassword standards with respect to the minimum length, character classcomposition, and age of passwords, such as described by the standardWindows Server password complexity requirements, although theserequirements may be modified.

Another feature may relate to the enablement of a client sidecertificate for certain applications 610 as secondary credentials (forthe purpose of accessing PKI protected web resources via the applicationmanagement framework micro VPN feature). For example, a managedapplication 610 may utilize such a certificate. In this case,certificate-based authentication using ActiveSync protocol may besupported, wherein a certificate from the client agent 604 may beretrieved by gateway server 606 and used in a keychain. Each managedapplication 610 may have one associated client certificate, identifiedby a label that is defined in gateway server 606.

Gateway server 606 may interact with an enterprise special purpose webservice to support the issuance of client certificates to allow relevantmanaged applications to authenticate to internal PKI protectedresources.

The client agent 604 and the application management framework 614 may beenhanced to support obtaining and using client certificates forauthentication to internal PKI protected network resources. More thanone certificate may be supported, such as to match various levels ofsecurity and/or separation requirements. The certificates may be used bythe Mail and Browser managed applications 610, and ultimately byarbitrary wrapped applications 610 (provided those applications use webservice style communication patterns where it is reasonable for theapplication management framework to mediate HTTPS requests).

Application management client certificate support on iOS may rely onimporting a public-key cryptography standards (PKCS) 12 BLOB (BinaryLarge Object) into the iOS keychain in each managed application 610 foreach period of use. Application management framework client certificatesupport may use a HTTPS implementation with private in-memory keystorage. The client certificate may not be present in the iOS keychainand may not be persisted except potentially in “online-only” data valuethat is strongly protected.

Mutual SSL or TLS may also be implemented to provide additional securityby requiring that a mobile device 602 is authenticated to theenterprise, and vice versa. Virtual smart cards for authentication togateway server 606 may also be implemented.

Both limited and full Kerberos support may be additional features. Thefull support feature relates to an ability to do full Kerberos login toActive Directory (AD) 622, using an AD password or trusted clientcertificate, and obtain Kerberos service tickets to respond to HTTPNegotiate authentication challenges. The limited support feature relatesto constrained delegation in Citrix Access Gateway Enterprise Edition(AGEE), where AGEE supports invoking Kerberos protocol transition so itcan obtain and use Kerberos service tickets (subject to constraineddelegation) in response to HTTP Negotiate authentication challenges.This mechanism works in reverse web proxy (aka corporate virtual privatenetwork (CVPN)) mode, and when HTTP (but not HTTPS) connections areproxied in VPN and MicroVPN mode.

Another feature may relate to application container locking and wiping,which may automatically occur upon jail-break or rooting detections, andoccur as a pushed command from administration console, and may include aremote wipe functionality even when a managed application 610 is notrunning.

A multi-site architecture or configuration of enterprise applicationstore and an application controller may be supported that allows usersto be serviced from one of several different locations in case offailure.

In some cases, managed applications 610 may be allowed to access acertificate and private key via an API (for example, OpenSSL). Trustedmanaged applications 610 of an enterprise may be allowed to performspecific Public Key operations with an application's client certificateand private key. Various use cases may be identified and treatedaccordingly, such as if or when an application behaves like a browserand no certificate access is required, if or when an application reads acertificate for “who am I,” if or when an application uses thecertificate to build a secure session token, and if or when anapplication uses private keys for digital signing of important data(e.g. transaction log) or for temporary data encryption.

Unified Display for Virtual Resources

FIG. 7 illustrates an example system for unifying display of virtualresources in accordance with one or more illustrative aspects describedherein. The system may comprise a server device 721, and the serverdevice 721 may comprise a server agent 723. The server agent 723 mayfacilitate delivery of resources, such as enterprise resources, to oneor more client devices.

The server device 721 may comprise a virtual browser 727. The virtualbrowser 727 may receive a request to launch a URL within a virtualsession of the server device 721. The virtual browser 727 may include abrowser helper 728 (e.g., a browser helper object, such as a browseradd-on), which may intercept actions within the virtual browser 727browser, such as launch of a new URL. The browser helper 728 may sendone or more of the actions to a server agent redirector 725, such as ifthe URL is a non-whitelist URL. The server agent redirector 725 mayreceive the action(s) from the browser helper 728, and may be used toredirect the URL request to the client device 701. The server agentredirector 725 may be part of the server agent 723. For example, theserver agent redirector 725 may comprise a process within the serveragent 723. Alternatively, the server agent redirector 725 may be aprocess separate from the server agent 723. The redirector 725 mayfacilitate redirection of URL requests to client devices.

The system may comprise a data store 729. The data store 729 may storedata indicating actions originated within the virtual browser 727 and/ordue to actions and/or data received from the client device 701, such asvia a virtual channel 751. As will be described in further detail below,the data store 729 may store information for launched URLs along withstate information for launching the URL and/or displaying content fromthe URL.

The system may comprise a client device 701. A virtual channel 751 maybe established between the server device 721 and the client device 701.In some examples, the virtual channel may connect the server agent 723to a client agent 703 of the client device 701. The virtual channel 751may use, for example, an HDX/ICA display remoting protocol, aspreviously explained.

The client device 701 may comprise a local browser 709. The localbrowser may execute locally on the client device 701. The local browser709 may include a browser helper 707. The browser helper 707 may be, forexample, a browser helper add-on, such as a plugin of the local browser709 and/or may be hosted in the same memory or address space as thelocal browser 709. As will be described in further detail below, thebrowser helper 707 may capture redirected request(s), and the browserhelper 707 may send (e.g., forward) the captured request to a clientagent redirector 704. The client agent redirector 704 may communicatethe captured redirect request to the client agent 703 of the clientdevice 701. The client agent redirector 704 may comprise a processwithin the client agent 703. Alternatively, the client agent redirector704 may be a process separate from the client agent 703. The clientagent 703 may receive the request from the browser helper 707 and maydetermine whether to launch the URL on a local browser of the clientdevice 701 (e.g., a local browser 709) or to launch the URL via anotherbrowser, such as a secured browser 741.

The secured browser 741 may run in a different session from the localbrowser 709 and from the virtual browser 727. For example, the securedbrowser 741 may comprise a cloud-hosted web browser and may run on asecured browser cloud service. The secured browser 741 may be used toisolate certain types of web browsing, such as browsing of unsafe oruntrusted URLs. Only certain types of activities, such as screenupdates, mouse click, keystroke commands, etc., might reach the clientdevice 701, and the client device 701 may be protected from unsafe oruntrusted content. A web browser instance of the secured browser 741 maybe displayed, on the client device 701, side-by-side with the virtualbrowser 727 running on the server device 721 and/or next to the localbrowser 709 running on the client device 701.

The client agent 703 may comprise a renderer 705. The renderer 705 mayreceive one or more images or information used to generate (e.g.,render) images, such as bitmaps, from the server agent 723 (e.g., viathe virtual channel 751), the secured browser 741, and/or the localbrowser 709. The renderer 705 may control which browser window(s) and/ortab(s) are to be displayed and how they are to be displayed. As will beexplained in further detail below, the renderer 705 may combine viewsfrom different browsers, such as the virtual browser 727, the securedbrowser 741, the local browser 709, or other browsers. Details ofvarious steps performed by the components shown in FIG. 7 will bedescribed in further detail below.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example method for unifying display of virtualresources in accordance with one or more illustrative aspects describedherein. In step 902, a server device, such as the server device 721,and/or a client device, such as the client device 701, may work tolaunch a virtual session. The virtual session may include a virtualdesktop or a virtual application on a virtual machine. The virtualmachine may run on the server device 721 or on another server device.Additionally or alternatively, the virtual session may be a virtualsession using a secured browser, such as the secured browser 741. Thevirtual session may comprise a virtual web session. For example, avirtual browser application, such as the virtual browser 727, may behosted and/or executed on a virtual desktop. Additionally oralternatively, the virtual browser 727 may comprise a published and/ordedicated virtual browser application. After the virtual desktopsession, virtual application session, and/or virtual secured browsersession is launched, a user may interact with the virtual session viathe client device 701. For example, the user may open new tabs orwindows within a browser application, adjust existing tabs or windows,and the like.

In step 904, the server device 721 may determine whether it has receiveda request associated with a browser, such as the virtual browser 727 orthe secured browser 741. For example, the client device 701 may send, tothe server device 721 and/or via the virtual channel, a requestassociated with the browser, and the server device 721 may receive therequest. If the server device has received a request associated with thebrowser (step 904: Y), the method may proceed to step 906. The browserhelper 728 on the server device 721 may also intercept requestsassociated with the virtual browser 727 and access for URLs. If, on theother hand, the server device has not received a request associated withthe browser (step 904: N), the server device may return to step 904 andwait to receive a request. The request may comprise a request, from auser and via the client device, to modify existing tabs and/or windows,such as moving windows within a display area, moving tabs (e.g.,changing the order of tabs within a window), moving slider bars for tabsor windows, or other user interactions associated with a virtualbrowser. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a unified display of virtualresources in accordance with one or more illustrative aspects describedherein. The user may move the browser window 810, adjust the size of thebrowser window 810, change the order of the tabs 812, 816, and/or 817within the browser window 810, move the slider bar 814 up or down, orotherwise attempt to change the characteristics of the browser window810 (or other browser windows, such as browser window 830). In someexamples, the URLs corresponding to the tabs 812, 816, and 817 may belaunched in different locations. For example, the URL in the tab 812 maybe launched at the virtual browser 727 (e.g., in a base virtualsession), the tab 816 may be launched at the secured browser 741, andthe tab 817 may be launched at the local browser 709.

The request associated with the browser may comprise a request, from theuser and via the client device, to open a new tab or open a new windowin the virtual session. For example, the user may enter a new URL intothe address or search bar 836. The user may also perform a search enginesearch (e.g., by entering keywords into the address or search bar 836)and select one of the search results, which may cause a correspondingURL to be launched. Additionally or alternatively, the user may open anew window or open a new tab within an existing window and enter a newURL or access a new URL using a search engine search. The user mightclick on a link within an already opened browser page, or the user mayclick on a URL link within another virtual application within the samevirtual session. Returning to FIG. 9, after a request associated withthe browser has been received, the method may proceed to step 906.

In step 906, the server device 721 may determine whether the requestassociated with the browser comprises a request to access (e.g., open) aURL. If the request comprises a request to access a URL (step 906: Y),the method may proceed to step 908. As previously explained, the requestto access a URL may comprise a request to access a new URL in a new tabor window or in an existing tab or window. If the request does notcomprise a request to access a URL (step 906: N), the method may proceedto step 924, as will be described in further detail below. For example,the request may comprise an action on an existing tab and/or window,such as a request to move a window, move a tab, move slider bars forwindows and/or tabs, etc.

In step 908, the server device 721 may determine whether the URL can beaccessed (e.g., opened) in the virtual session. Configuration policiesmay be used to determine whether the URL can be accessed. For example,configuration policies may comprise a list (e.g., a whitelist) of URLsthat may be launched in the virtual session. Non-whitelist URLs mightnot be able to be launched in the virtual session. Additionally oralternatively, configuration policies may comprise a blacklist of URLsthat are not permitted to be launched in the virtual session, and URLsnot on the blacklist may be permitted to be launched in the virtualsession. If the URL can be accessed in the virtual session (step 908:Y), the method may proceed to step 918. In step 918, the server device721 may launch the URL in the virtual session. For example, and withreference to FIG. 7, the server device 721 may launch the URL in thevirtual browser 727 if the base virtual session is a virtual desktop orvirtual application executing on the server device 721. If the basevirtual session is running as a secured browser 741, the URL may belaunched in the secured browser 741. Returning to FIG. 9, if, on theother hand, the URL cannot be accessed in the virtual session (step 908:N), the method may proceed to step 910.

In step 910, the server device 721 may determine the mode of the accessrequest. The mode may comprise, for example, accessing the URL in anexisting or new browser tab or accessing the URL in an existing or newbrowser window. In step 912, the server device 721 may redirect, to theclient device, the URL of the access request and the mode of the accessrequest (e.g., accessing the URL in a tab or accessing the URL in awindow). With reference to FIG. 7, the server agent redirector 725 maycommunicate, with the server agent 723 of the server device 721, anindication to redirect, to the client device 701, the URL and the modeof access (e.g., opening in a tab or a window). The server agent 723 maysend the information to the client agent 703 and via the virtual channel751. As previously explained, the browser helper 728 may capture useractions such as clicking a link, entering a URL in the address bar,selecting a bookmark link, etc. showing intent to launch a new URL. Thebrowser helper 728 may send this information to the server agentredirector 725 (e.g., within the server agent 723), and the server agentredirector 725 may determine whether to launch the URL in the virtualbrowser 727 or at a different location. Whether to launch the URL in thevirtual browser 727 may be based on, for example, whitelist policies.The mode of access for a non-permitted URL (e.g., non-whitelisted URL)to be opened may also be determined. The server agent redirector 725 maysend, using the server agent 723, to the client agent 703, and via thevirtual channel 751, the URL to be opened and the mode to open the URL.

Returning to FIG. 9, in step 914, the client device 701, such as via theclient agent 703, may determine a location to launch the URL and/or aservice with which to launch the URL. For example, assume that the basevirtual session (e.g., launched in step 902) comprises a virtual desktopor virtual application executing on the server device 721. The clientdevice 701 may determine to launch the URL at a different location ifthe URL is not permitted to be launched by the virtual desktop orapplication. For example, the client device 701 may determine to launchthe URL locally at the client device 701, such as via the local browser709. The client agent 703 may have access to local applications on theclient device, such as the local browser 709, and may determine tolaunch non-whitelisted URLs on the local browser 709. Alternatively, theclient device 701 may determine to launch the URL using the securedbrowser 741, or to launch the URL at another location. Configurationpolicies may indicate whether to launch the URL locally, using thesecured browser 741, or at another location and/or service.

URLs may also be launched at locations having graphics capabilitiessatisfying the URL's graphics requirements. Some URLs may be moregraphics intensive, and other URLs may be less graphics intensive. Forexample, URLs with graphics intensive content, such as high definitionvideos, flash-based applications, etc., may have higher graphicsrequirements, whereas URLs with content that is less graphics intensive,such as text, may have lower graphics requirements. Graphicsrequirements for URLs may be specified, for example, by an administratorwhen publishing the resource. In some examples, as URLs are launched andthe content is fetched, the browser helper 707 or the browser helper 728may be aware of the graphics requirements. For example, an HTML Iframemay require flash redirection video, and the browser helper may be awareof this requirement. The browser helper 707 or the browser helper 728may send an indication of the graphics requirements to its correspondingredirector 704 or 725. Alternatively, an agent may monitor the browserprocesses and may store the peak memory or other attributes used by theprocess. For example, the agent may note that 1.2 GB was needed tolaunch the browser application, but that the client has less than 1.2 GBof RAM available. In some example, the redirector 725 may request theserver agent 723 to store, in the data store 729, metadata associatedwith the URL and that indicates the graphics requirements.

Different locations may have different graphics capabilities. Forexample, a personal computer may have a graphics processing unit (GPU),such as part of a dedicated graphics card, capable of handling URLs withgraphics intensive content. Other locations, such as the server device721 or other host server, may have access to virtual GPUs (vGPUs) and/orreal GPUs that allow graphics to be rendered on the server rather thanthe client device. Other remote locations might or might not have accessto vGPUs. The URL may be launched at a location having graphicscapabilities that satisfy the URL's graphics requirements.

In step 916, the client device 701 may launch the URL at the determinedlocation and/or with the determined service. As explained above, theclient agent 703 may access the local browser 709 and send a request tothe local browser 709 to launch the URL. Alternatively, the client agent703 may send a request to the secured browser 741 for the securedbrowser 741 to launch the URL via a virtual web session. If the URL islaunched on the local browser 709 or the secured browser 741, and one ormore other URLs are launched on a virtual desktop or virtual applicationexecuting on the server device 721, two or more browser windows might bedisplayed from two or more different sources in some examples. Thedisplays of the browser windows may be unified, as will be described infurther detail below.

In step 920, the client device 701 may receive, from the location and/orservice that launched the URL, details of the launched URL. Details ofthe launched URL may comprise images and/or information used to generateimages corresponding to the launched URL, such as bitmaps for thelaunched URL. As will be described in further detail below, the imagesmay be used by the client device to generate an image of the content ofthe URL, such as webpage content. With reference to FIG. 7, the renderer705 of the client device 701 may receive details of the launched URLfrom the secured browser 741 if the URL was launched at the securedbrowser 741. The renderer 705 may receive details of the launched URLfrom the local browser 709 if the URL was launched at the local browser709. The renderer 705 may receive details of the launched URL from theserver agent 723 (e.g., via the virtual channel 751) if the URL waslaunched at the virtual browser 727.

Returning to FIG. 9, in step 922, the client device 701 (e.g., using therenderer 705) may generate a unified display of a plurality of URLs,including the launched URL (e.g., launched in step 916). For example,display of the launched URL may be combined (e.g., unified) with thedisplay of URL(s) launched at other locations and/or with otherservices. With reference to FIG. 8, assume that the URL corresponding tothe tab 812 and the URL corresponding to the tab 832 were previouslylaunched on the virtual browser 727 and that the tab 812 (and itcorresponding window 810) and the tab 832 (and its corresponding window830) are displayed by the client device. Also assume that the userattempts to open the URL “https://DEF . . . ” in a new tab 816 of thewindow 810. If the URL “https://DEF . . . ” is a non-white list URL, theserver agent redirector 725 may redirect the URL “https://DEF . . . ” tothe client device 701. The URL “https://DEF . . . ” may be launched atthe secured browser 741 or the local browser 709. If the URL“https://DEF . . . ” is launched at the secured browser 741, the clientdevice may receive, from the secured browser 741, details of thelaunched URL “https://DEF . . . .”

Without unifying display of the browser windows and/or tabs, content forthe webpage corresponding to the URL “https://DEF . . . ” may bedisplayed separately from the window 810, such as in a dedicated securedbrowser 741 window (not shown). If, however, the renderer 705 of theclient device 701 unifies display of the webpage content from the URL“https://DEF . . . ” with existing windows and/or tabs, the webpagecontent from the URL “https://DEF . . . ” may be displayed as a new tab816 within the window 810. For example, the user may have requested todisplay tabs 812, 816, and 817 in the same window 810. By unifying thedisplay of URLs launched at different locations, content may bedisplayed more efficiently on a display of the client device. Forexample, instead of displaying three separate browser windows, theclient device 701 may display two browser windows 810 and 830, with thebrowser window 810 having three tabs 812, 816, and 817. Alternatively,the client device 701 may display one browser window having four tabs812, 816, 817, and 832.

As described above, the client device 701 may generate a unified displayof URLs launched in different locations. With reference to FIG. 7, therenderer 705 of the client device 701 may receive information forgenerating images of content from URLs launched at different locations,such as information from the virtual browser 727, information from thesecured browser 741, and/or information from the local browser 709. Therenderer 705 may unify display of the URLs, such as by combining windowsand/or tabs. For example and with brief reference to FIG. 8, therenderer 705 may cause display of content corresponding to a URLlaunched at the virtual browser 727 in the tab 812, cause display ofcontent corresponding to a URL launched at the secured browser 741 inthe tab 816, cause display of content corresponding to a URL launched atthe local browser 709 in the tab 817, and cause display of contentcorresponding to a URL launched at the local browser 709 in the tab 832.

Where to display each URL may be configured by the user of the clientdevice 701 or an administrator. For example, assume that the clientdevice 701 has and/or is connected to two monitors. Configurationparameters may indicate that whitelisted URLs are to be displayed on onemonitor, and non-whitelisted URLs are to be displayed on the othermonitor. The renderer 705 may read the configuration parameters and,based on the configuration parameters, unify display of the URLs bycausing display of the whitelisted URLs on one monitor and causingdisplay of the non-whitelisted URLS on the other monitor. Additionallyor alternatively, configuration parameters may indicate that whitelistedURLs are to be displayed on one window, and non-whitelisted URLs are tobe displayed on a different window. The renderer 705 may read theconfiguration parameters and, based on the configuration parameters,unify display of the URLs by causing display of the whitelisted URLs onone window and causing display of the non-whitelisted URLS on the secondwindow. As the user moves the browser windows across monitors, locationattributes of the monitor and position may be captured by the clientdevice 701 and sent to the server device 721 to be stored in the datastore 729. As will be described in further detail below, thisinformation may be read during reconnection to give the user the same orsimilar experience the user had before disconnecting.

Returning to FIG. 9, in step 924, data for the request associated withthe browser may be stored. The data may be stored at the server device721 or another server device. For example, the data may be stored in adata store 729, such as in a user profile associated with the basevirtual session, a database, etc. The client device 701 may send thedata to the server device 721, and the server device 721 in turn maystore the data in the data store 729. Data in the data store 729 may beaccessible to the server agent 723 and/or the client agent 703. Forexample, the server device 721 may send, to the client device 701 oranother client device, data from the data store 729 after reconnectionor session launch, as will be described in further detail below. Thestored data may be updated and may be used to determine where to launchthe URL and/or to re-generate display of windows and/or tabscorresponding to the URL. For example, the user may disconnect andreconnect to the virtual session or roam to the virtual session on adifferent client device, and may desire to display the same windowsand/or tabs from the previous virtual session (e.g., in the same orsimilar configuration).

As previously explained, the request may have been a request to access anew URL in a tab of an existing window or in a new window. The clientdevice 701 and/or the server device 721 may store the URL along withstate information for launching the URL and/or displaying content fromthe URL. State information may include, for example, the tab and/orwindow used to display content from the URL. With reference to FIG. 8,state information may indicate that content from the URL “https://DEF .. . ” is displayed in tab 816 of the window 810. State information mayindicate the location of the tab or window within a display area of theclient device. For example, the client device may have a single displayarea 840 (e.g., for a single monitor). The state information mayindicate the location of the window 810 in the display area 840 (e.g.,locations of the corners of the window 810, the location of the centerof the window 810, the size of the window 810, etc.). The stateinformation may also indicate the order of the tabs 812, 816, and 817within the window 810. The state information may also indicate which tabis currently being displayed to the user (e.g., tab 816). Stateinformation for the window 830 may similarly be stored.

In some examples, the client device 701 may have multiple display areas850A and 850B (e.g., in a dual monitor scenario). The state informationmay indicate which monitor was used to display which tab and/or window.For example, the state information may indicate that the window 810 andits corresponding tabs 812, 816, and 817 are displayed on the displayarea 850A of a first monitor and that the window 830 and itscorresponding tab 832 are displayed on the display area 850B of a secondmonitor. The state information may indicate the locations (e.g.,coordinates) of horizontal sliding bars or vertical sliding bars foreach tab or window. For example, the state information may indicate thecoordinates of the vertical sliding bar 834 of the tab 832. The stateinformation may indicate coordinates of other sliding bars, such as thevertical sliding bar 814 of the tab 816.

As explained above, some URLs may be more graphics intensive, and otherURLs may be less graphics intensive. URLs with graphics intensivecontent, such as high definition videos, may have higher graphicsrequirements, whereas URLs with content that is less graphics intensive,such as text, may have lower graphics requirements. The stateinformation stored in the data store 729 may indicate graphics (e.g.,graphics processing unit (GPU)) requirements for each URL.

Content from some URLs may display better in certain browser types thanin other browser types. Examples of different types of browsers includeCHROME, INTERNET EXPLORER, FIREFOX, etc. Code for a particular URL maybe developed or optimized for a subset of browser types but notdeveloped or optimized for another subset of browser types. For example,a URL may work well in CHROME, but might not work well in INTERNETEXPLORER. State information stored at the data store 729 may indicatewhether a particular URL is developed or optimized for certain browsertypes and may indicate those browser types.

The state information may indicate the location and/or service withwhich the URL was launched. For example, the state information mayindicate that the URL “https://XYZ . . . ” was launched at the virtualbrowser 727, that the URL “https://DEF . . . ” was launched at thesecured browser 741, and/or that the URL “https://ABC . . . ” waslaunched at the local browser 709.

With reference to step 906 shown in FIG. 9, the request associated withthe browser might not be a request to access a URL (step 906: N). Forexample, the request may comprise a request to modify an existing taband/or window, such as a request to move a window, move a tab, moveslider bars for windows and/or tabs, etc. The method may proceed to step924. In step 924, data associated with the virtual session may beupdated to reflect the modification to the existing tab and/or window.With reference to FIG. 8, if the user moves the browser window 810, thesession data may be updated to reflect the new location of the window810. If the user adjusts the size of the browser window 830, the sessiondata may be updated to reflect the new size of the window 830 and/or thenew location of the window 830 due to resizing. If the user changes theorder of the tabs 812, 816, and/or 817 within the browser window 810(e.g., to place tab 816 before tab 812, to place tab 816 after tab 817,to place tab 812 after tab 817, etc.), the session data may be updatedto reflect the new order of the tabs. If the user moves the verticalslider bar 814 up or down, the session data may be updated to reflectthe new location of the vertical slider bar 814. Other changes to thebrowser window 810 or browser window 830, and their components may bereflected in the session data. By storing URLs and/or their stateinformation, the client device 701 and/or server device 721 may be ableto determine where to launch URLs and/or to re-generate displays ofwindows and/or tabs corresponding to the URLs, such as if the userreconnects to the virtual session from the same client device 701 or adifferent client device.

FIG. 10 illustrates another example method for unifying display ofvirtual resources in accordance with one or more illustrative aspectsdescribed herein. A user may disconnect from a virtual session and maydesire to reconnect to the virtual session in the future using the sameclient device or a different client device. After reconnection, tabsand/or windows displayed during the previous virtual session may bedisplayed in the current session.

In step 1002, a server device (e.g., the server device 721) maydetermine whether the server device has received a reconnection requestand/or a session roaming login request. A user may have previouslydisconnected from a virtual session, and the user may attempt toreconnect to the virtual session from the same client device 701.Alternatively, the user may desire to reconnect to the virtual sessionfrom a different client device. For example, session roaming may beenabled for the virtual session, and a user may attempt to reconnect tothe virtual session from a different client device using session roamingfeatures. After a user attempts, via the client device 701 or adifferent client device, to reconnect to the virtual session, the serverdevice 721 may receive the reconnection request. If the server devicehas not received a reconnection request for the session (step 1002: N),the server device may return to step 1002 and wait to receive areconnection request from the user. If the server device has received areconnection request (step 1002: Y), the method may proceed to step1004.

In step 1004, the base virtual session may be launched by the clientdevice and/or the server device. A previously explained, the basevirtual session may comprise, for example, a virtual application and/ora virtual desktop. The base virtual session may be the initial virtualsession that may allow the client device and/or server device to launchadditional virtual sessions, such as if URLs are to be launched fromdifferent locations and/or servers. During launch of the base virtualsession, the client agent 703 may communicate with the server agent 723,such as via a virtual connection, to establish the virtual session onthe server device 721. While the base virtual session is being launched,the client device and/or server device may prepare to launch URLsassociated with the base virtual session by determining, for example,which tabs and/or windows are to be launched, the locations to launchthe tabs and/or windows, and/or settings for the tabs and/or windows tobe launched (e.g., location of windows, order of tabs, locations ofsliding bars, etc.). For example, initiating launch of the base virtualsession may trigger preparations to launch URL(s). By preparing tolaunch the URLs while the base virtual session is being launched, thesystem may more efficiently and quickly launch the URLs and theappropriate settings after the base virtual session becomes available.The lag time between when the user requests reconnection to displayingbrowser tabs and/or windows on the client device may be reduced.

In step 1006, the client device 701 (or a different client device) maydetermine URL(s) to be launched. The URL(s) to be launched may beassociated with the base virtual session. The client device may accessthe data store 729 (e.g., via a user profile associated with the basevirtual session) for information associated with the base virtualsession, such as which URL(s) were active during the previous virtualsession. The client device may request, from the data store 729 andthrough the server device 721, the information or may directly accessthe information from the data store 729. The client device 701 mayrequest state information for launching and/or displaying each URL.Examples of state information were previously described, and may includewhich tab(s) and/or window(s) were used to display the URL(s). Stateinformation may indicate the location of the window(s) in the displayarea of the client device, the order of tab(s) within windows, which tabwas displayed, which monitor was used to display each window (e.g., formulti-monitor scenarios), locations of horizontal sliding bars orvertical sliding bars for each tab or window, etc.

In step 1008, the client device may determine location(s) to launch theURL(s) and/or service(s) for launching the URL(s). The data stored forthe base virtual session may indicate the location that each URL waslaunched in the previous session and/or the service that was used tolaunch each URL, such as the local browser 709, the virtual browser 727,the secured browser 741, or a different browser. The client device mayreceive this information from the data store 729, and the informationmay be used to determine where to launch the URL(s) in the currentsession. With reference to FIG. 8, assume, for example, that theinformation indicates that the URL “https://XYZ . . . ” was launched atthe virtual browser 727, the URL “https://DEF . . . ” was launched atthe secured browser 741, and the URL “https://ABC . . . ” was launchedat the local browser 709 of the client device 701. The client device mayinitially determine to launch the URL(s) at the same locations and/orusing the same service(s). The location to launch the URL may changedepending on various capabilities of the location, such as graphicscapabilities of the location or browser types supported by the location.

Returning to FIG. 10, in step 1010, the client device may determinewhether the determined location(s) and/or service(s) have appropriategraphics capabilities that satisfy graphics requirements for URLs. Theclient device may receive, from the data store 729, informationindicating the graphics requirements for a URL. The client device maycompare the graphics capabilities of the location to launch the URL tothe graphics requirements for the URL. As previously explained, someURLs may have higher graphics requirements (e.g., higher processorspeed, more memory, dedicated GPU, etc.), and other URLs may have lowergraphics requirements (e.g., lower processor speed, less memory,graphics integrated with general processor, etc.). Graphics requirementsfor one or more of the URLs associated with the virtual session may bestored in the data store 729. If the determined location(s) and/orservice(s) have appropriate graphics capabilities (step 1010: Y), themethod may proceed to step 1014, as will be described in further detailbelow. If the location at which a URL was previously launched no longerhas appropriate graphics capabilities to satisfy graphics requirementsfor the URL (step 1010: N), the method may proceed to step 1012.

In step 1012, the client device may determine alternative location(s)and/or service(s) to launch tabs and/or windows. The alternativelocation(s) and/or service(s) may have access to graphics capabilitiesthat satisfy the graphics requirements for the URL. A graphics intensiveURL may have been launched by the local browser 709 of the client device701 in a previous session because, for example, the client device 701has powerful graphics capabilities. If the user attempts to reconnect tothe session from a different client device with less powerful graphicscapabilities (e.g., a mobile phone), the client device may attempt tofind a different location to launch the URL, such as a remote locationhaving access to a vGPU. For example, the virtual browser 727 and/orserver device 721 may have access to a vGPU, and the client device maydetermine to launch the URL using the virtual browser 727 instead of atthe client device.

As another example, assume that the previous session was initiated at amobile device with weaker graphics capabilities. During the previoussession, a graphics intensive URL may have been launched by the securedbrowser 741 having access to a vGPU that satisfies the graphicsrequirements of the URL. The user may reconnect to the session via aclient device having more powerful graphics capabilities that satisfythe graphics requirement of the URL, such as a personal computer, alaptop computer with a dedicated GPU, etc. The client device maydetermine to launch the URL using a local browser of the client deviceinstead of the secured browser 741. In some examples, preference may begiven to local GPUs over vGPUs. In other examples, users may decidewhether to give preference to local GPUs or vGPUs. The method mayproceed to step 1014.

In step 1014, the client device may determine whether the determinedlocation(s) and/or service(s) have appropriate browser type(s) forlaunching the URLs. The client device may receive, from the data store729, information indicating which URLs to be launched have beendeveloped or optimized for certain browser types. The client device maydetermine whether the determined location for the URL has a browser ofthe browser type. If the determined location(s) and/or service(s) haveappropriate browser type(s) (step 1014: Y), the method may proceed tostep 1018, as will be described in further detail below. If thedetermined location(s) and/or service(s) do not have the appropriatebrowser type(s) (step 1014: N), the method may proceed to step 1016. Forexample, a URL may have been launched in the previous session with alocal browser 709 on the client device 701. The URL may be developed oroptimized for a browser of a first browser type (e.g., CHROME), and thelocal browser 709 of the client device 701 may be of the first browsertype. The user may attempt to reconnect to the session from a differentclient device that has a local browser of a second browser type (e.g.,INTERNET EXPLORER), but does not have a browser of the first browsertype. The client device may attempt to determine another location tolaunch the URL optimized for the first browser type.

In step 1016, the client device may determine alternative location(s)and/or service(s) to launch tabs and/or windows having browserrequirements. In the above example, the client device may determine tolaunch the URL at a location supporting the first browser type (e.g.,CHROME). For example, the virtual browser 727 may support the firstbrowser type, and the client device may determine to launch the URL atthe virtual browser 727. Alternatively, the secured browser 741 maysupport the first browser type, and the client device may determine tolaunch the URL at the secured browser 741. The method may proceed tostep 1018.

In step 1018, the client device may determine whether the base virtualsession is available. The base virtual session may be available oncelaunch is complete and/or after browser windows and/or tabs can bedisplayed on the client device. Views of the windows and/or tabs may behidden until after the base virtual session is available. If the basevirtual session is not yet available (step 1018: N), the client devicemay wait until the base virtual session becomes available. If the basevirtual session is available (step 1018: Y), the client device mayproceed to launch the URL(s) at the determined locations or servicesand/or generate unified displays of the plurality of URLs on the clientdevice. For example, the method may return to step 916 shown in FIG. 9,and the URLs may be launched. As previously explained, in step 920,details of the URLs launched in the reconnect session may be received.In step 922, the client device may generate a unified display of theURLs. In step 924, data associated with the launched URLs and/or windowsor tabs used to display the URLs may be stored. One or more of the stepsillustrated in FIG. 9 may be performed as previously described until,for example, the session is disconnected.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are described asexample implementations of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: after launching a virtualsession between a client device and a server device, sending, by theclient device, to the server device, and via a virtual channel, arequest to access a uniform resource locator (URL) via a browserassociated with the server device; receiving, by the client device andfrom the server device, a request to access the URL via a browserdifferent from the browser associated with the server device;determining, by the client device, a second browser with which to accessthe URL, wherein the second browser is different from the browserassociated with the server device; causing the URL to be launched viathe second browser; receiving, by the client device, information forgenerating one or more images corresponding to the URL launched via thesecond browser; and based on the information for generating one or moreimages corresponding to the URL launched via the second browser,generating, by the client device, a unified display of the URL launchedvia the second browser and one or more URLs launched via the browserassociated with the server device.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thereceiving the request to access the URL via the browser different fromthe browser associated with the server device is based on adetermination that the URL is not permitted to be accessed via thebrowser associated with the server device.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the request to access the URL via a browser different from thebrowser indicates the URL and a mode of access for the URL.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the mode of access for the URL comprisesaccessing the URL via a tab of the browser associated with the serverdevice or via a window of the browser associated with the server device.5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: sending, by the clientdevice and to the server device, a request to modify one or morecharacteristics of a browser window of the browser associated with theserver device or a browser tab of the browser associated with the serverdevice; and based on the request to modify the one or morecharacteristics, causing storage, in a data store associated with thevirtual session, an indication of the modification to one or morecharacteristics of the browser window of the browser associated with theserver device or the browser tab of the browser associated with theserver device.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the secondbrowser with which to access the URL is based on graphics requirementsassociated with the URL.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the browserassociated with the server device comprises a virtual browser executingon the server device, and wherein the second browser comprises a localbrowser executing on the client device or a secured browser executing ina virtual session different from the virtual session between the clientdevice and the server device.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein therequest to access the URL via the browser associated with the serverdevice comprises a request to access the URL via a browser tab of thebrowser associated with the server device, and wherein generating theunified display comprises causing display, in the browser tab of thebrowser associated with the server device, of content associated withthe URL launched via the second browser.
 9. The method of claim 1,further comprising: causing storage, in a data store associated with thevirtual session, an indication of the URL launched via the secondbrowser and state information for the URL launched via the secondbrowser, wherein the state information for the URL indicates one or moreof a browser tab or a browser window used to display content associatedwith the URL launched via the second browser.
 10. The method of claim 9,further comprising: reconnecting the client device to the virtualsession; based on data from the data store associated with the virtualsession, causing the URL to be launched via the second browser andcausing the one or more URLs to be launched via the browser associatedwith the server device; and based on data from the data store associatedwith the virtual session, generating a unified display of the URLlaunched via the second browser and the one or more URLs launched viathe browser associated with the server device.
 11. The method of claim9, further comprising: reconnecting the client device to the virtualsession; based on a determination that graphics capabilities of thesecond browser do not satisfy graphics requirements for the URL, causingthe URL to be launched via a third browser different from the secondbrowser; causing the one or more URLs to be launched via the browserassociated with the server device; and based on data from the data storeassociated with the virtual session, generating a unified display of theURL launched via the third browser and the one or more URLs launched viathe browser associated with the server device.
 12. An apparatuscomprising: a processor; and memory storing computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatusto: after launching a virtual session between the apparatus and a serverdevice, send, to the server device and via a virtual channel, a requestto access a uniform resource locator (URL) via a browser associated withthe server device; receive, from the server device, a request to accessthe URL via a browser different from the browser associated with theserver device; determine a second browser with which to access the URL,wherein the second browser is different from the browser associated withthe server device; cause the URL to be launched via the second browser;receive information for generating one or more images corresponding tothe URL launched via the second browser; and based on the informationfor generating one or more images corresponding to the URL launched viathe second browser, generate a unified display of the URL launched viathe second browser and one or more URLs launched via the browserassociated with the server device.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12,wherein receiving the request to access the URL via the browserdifferent from the browser associated with the server device is based ona determination that the URL is not permitted to be accessed via thebrowser associated with the server device.
 14. The apparatus of claim12, wherein the request to access the URL via a browser different fromthe browser indicates the URL and a mode of access for the URL.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 12, wherein the memory stores computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatusto: send, to the server device, a request to modify one or morecharacteristics of a browser window of the browser associated with theserver device or a browser tab of the browser associated with the serverdevice; and based on the request to modify the one or morecharacteristics, cause storage, in a data store associated with thevirtual session, an indication of the modification to one or morecharacteristics of the browser window of the browser associated with theserver device or the browser tab of the browser associated with theserver device.
 16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storinginstructions that, when read by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to:after launching a virtual session between the apparatus and a serverdevice, send, to the server device and via a virtual channel, a requestto access a uniform resource locator (URL) via a browser associated withthe server device; receive, from the server device, a request to accessthe URL via a browser different from the browser associated with theserver device; determine a second browser with which to access the URL,wherein the second browser is different from the browser associated withthe server device; cause the URL to be launched via the second browser;receive information for generating one or more images corresponding tothe URL launched via the second browser; and based on the informationfor generating one or more images corresponding to the URL launched viathe second browser, generate a unified display of the URL launched viathe second browser and one or more URLs launched via the browserassociated with the server device.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the browser associatedwith the server device comprises a virtual browser executing on theserver device, and wherein the second browser comprises a local browserexecuting on the apparatus or a secured browser executing in a virtualsession different from the virtual session between the apparatus and theserver device.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim16, wherein the request to access the URL via the browser associatedwith the server device comprises a request to access the URL via abrowser tab of the browser associated with the server device, andwherein generating the unified display comprises causing display, in thebrowser tab of the browser associated with the server device, of contentassociated with the URL launched via the second browser.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, storinginstructions that, when read by the apparatus, cause the apparatus to:cause storage, in a data store associated with the virtual session, anindication of the URL launched via the second browser and stateinformation for the URL launched via the second browser, wherein thestate information for the URL indicates one or more of a browser tab ora browser window used to display content associated with the URLlaunched via the second browser.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 19, storing instructions that, whenread by the apparatus, cause the apparatus to: reconnect the apparatusto the virtual session; based on data from the data store associatedwith the virtual session, cause the URL to be launched via the secondbrowser and cause the one or more URLs to be launched via the browserassociated with the server device; and based on data from the data storeassociated with the virtual session, generate a unified display of theURL launched via the second browser and the one or more URLs launchedvia the browser associated with the server device.